We hoped for a ‘V’ shaped recovery, talked about a ‘U’ shape and were realistic about an ‘L’. Whatever shape the economic recovery, for 1805, ‘K’ is the letter defining the future for business leaders.
2020 was the ‘unprecedented year’, a year like no other. For sure, by so many metrics it was unparalleled. However, for business leaders to build back better and stronger, the future is going to demand so much more. Transformational times.
10 years ago, Greta was just seven and the first smartphone with fingerprint reader capability was not yet launched (Motorola Atrix). In the UK, we were looking ahead to the Olympics (2012); a Global lens on London, with its vision for the Games to be the most accessible and inclusive, delivered to leave a lasting legacy of opportunity and better quality of life. There has been much change over a decade but 2020 was still the ‘unprecedented year’.
The Covid-19 pandemic has fast forwarded the advancement of technology, its utilisation and accessibility as part of our already rapidly developing ‘digital lives’. Service, speed and simplicity, no longer several clicks away on the internet, now a swipe, in app, with customer experience being continually honed towards an individual level. Smartphones are becoming our wallets, our advisors, our social network and our oracle for the news we are fed and the news we choose.
iPhone 5, 2013 to iPhone 12, 2020. Huge advances. 7 years and set to only quicken. Exponential.
For the 2020s decade ahead, society and consumers are the catalysts now driving the green industrial revolution. Early still but policy makers have been slow to act and businesses continuing to maximise their performance in a linear economy. Just as Blockchain was futuristic to finance 10 years ago, so Circular Economy concepts are now starting to shape sustainable business thinking.
Bold innovation is required, the Planet’s biodiversity is at stake.
Opportunity and better quality of life? During a year, riven by loss, ill health, hardship and loneliness, 2020 was a year for self-reflection; societally, professionally and personally. In tandem, the year gave us The Black Lives Matter movement which, as well as its primary cause, is for many also revolutionising historical understanding plus their appreciation towards the realities of equality, diversity, inclusion and opportunity in our ‘modern’ world and working lives.
So what does this all mean for #inspiringleadership?
Already managing complex agendas, Boards and senior executives will be needing to lead anew, if they are to run successful, healthy businesses; a term with definitively broader meaning after 2020.
Sustainability no longer tucked away in a CSR department, Boards will have it as a central tenet of business strategy. Awareness of managing a business’s footprint on the world it impacts; education & opportunity, inclusion, well-being, climate change, Boards will be prioritising sustainability in all its forms, with business purpose and performance increasingly synonymous, shareholder primacy more challenged.
Transformational times demand #transformingleadersip.
End to end business accountability, governance, financial astuteness, operating performance and resilience dealing with business complexities, adversity and crisis. These are table stakes in terms of competencies for senior executives. Strength of digital and data understanding is now a must have…
Liberation from the legacy. Innovation and the rapid transfer of knowledge across an organisation, implemented with agility. In turn, growing new operating methodologies as part of a refreshing, inclusive culture, engaging employees with purpose and an implicit social contract as much as their professional one. A preparedness for and confidence planning with uncertainty. Shift Left, annual planning cycles become quarterly objectives and key results. Iteration, flexibility, continuous learning, test and evolve…
Leadership – its availability and informality are the modern and future norms, its energy infectious and its transparency, authenticity. In a world where we have increasingly less certainty, so managing for employee well-being will be key to organisational health. Leading the narrative across, up, down, internal and external to an organisation, engaging communication is perhaps a higher value skill than has ever been the case. With it, enabling and encouraging employees to speak up and out will be key to versatility, team cohesion, diversity and core transformational strengths.
So, ‘K’ is 1805’s defining letter. With all that is at stake and with all to play for, ‘K’ emphasises stark choices for business leaders as well as outcomes; a positive upward trajectory or one equally distinct, downwards. The change and the future choices have been brewing for some time. 2020 and crisis have magnified and brought them into sharp focus.
A new normal, a Brave New World (1932 – Aldous Huxley. Provocative read over this Christmas break). Recovering and resetting, yes, but we cannot afford to waste a good crisis. Humankind is again proving its ability to improvise, adapt and overcome. What comes next? Successful leadership through the 2020s will demand the bold, the inclusive, the versatile, the curious, the communicators, the humble & the visceral. These are leadership drivers of a positive ‘K’, #inspiringleadership, #transformingleadership and of prudent, sustainably successful outcomes.
A view from here… @1805.
What do you think? Do comment, do join the debate.
#inspiringleadership #transformingleadership #digitallives #circulareconomy #buildbackbetter #sustainable
1805 Ltd is an executive search and leadership advisory business. Based from London, 1805 works in the UK & internationally with the Boards and senior executives of transformational businesses and businesses going through transformation.